A Woman Made for Sin (25 page)

“I was so lonely,” she whispered, craning her head to give him better access.

“Promise me to never do anything so foolish again.”

“Never again. I swear to you.” Her voice was muffled, her face buried against his
chest as she breathed in his scent. “I was never so scared in my life. Nothing like
before.”

Summoning his self-command, Reece stilled his burning urges. Aimee’s eyes were large,
full of passion, beckoning him to kiss her already red and swollen lips. He pushed
himself away from her as the word
before
still rang in his ears.

Reality crashed in on him. He closed his eyes, berating himself for nearly compromising
her again. But whenever he was near Aimee, his mind and body forgot everything but
his overwhelming need to taste, touch, and make her his. “
Before?
” he repeated, this time aloud. “Are you telling me that you’ve climbed the
Sea Emerald
’s masts
before
last night?”

Aimee sat back on her knees and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Then, looking
him square in the eye, she nodded her head. Damn woman did not even try to look innocent.
Her large green eyes just stared at him, daring him to say something. It was as if
she had known this moment was coming for some time and was not just ready, but quite
willing to have this argument.

Reece narrowed his gaze and scoffed softly. “How many times?”

Aimee just looked at him with an arched brow. Anyone who thought Aimee Wentworth sweet
and naïve was both correct and incredibly mistaken. She was kind and beautiful. And
while in many ways inexperienced and trusting, there was an impishness about her that
could try the most patient of men.

There was a reason she, Millie, and Jennelle had been named the Daring Three. Each
of them had an indomitable spirit that could, without warning, become very dangerous.
It was that side of Aimee that Reece was looking at right now. But she was forgetting
that she was on
his ship
. Here
his
resolve ruled all, and his decision was final. “I’m waiting for an answer, Aimee.
Just how many times have you climbed this ship’s mast?”

“I thought our first argument would be about me sneaking aboard your ship.”

“Trust me when I say that we will get to that, but first you will answer my question.”

Aimee narrowed her eyes and after another few seconds, she answered, her tone challenging
rather than conciliatory. “The answer is several times, but working with Kyrk as a
rigger was only a fraction of what I’ve learned to do these past few weeks. Now ask
me why.”

Through an extraordinary act of will, Reece managed to control his rage. He very much
wanted to know why, but he refused to play into her hands. Damn it,
she
was the one in the wrong, and he was not going to have her confuse that fact! “I’m
not one of my men you can twist about with a smile,” he said.

Aimee spied his favorite worn robe and reached over to grab it. Standing up, she put
it on and then strolled over to one of the larger portholes to stare at the rolling
waters. The sun was shining once again and the seas, while not calm, were back to
being blue, friendly waves. “I’ve never been on a ship before I stowed away on this
one. For years, I heard endless stories about ships being cramped, the awful smells,
and the lack of food variety. I must say they were quite accurate. But what no one
ever told me was how liberating it could be being out here, with no land in sight,
only the wind and the water. I find it both peaceful
and
exhilarating. The sensation is”—she paused to turn around and look at him—“quite
addicting.”

Chase tensed. In just a few words, she had captured what he felt when he was at sea.
But the last person he wanted to understand that feeling was Aimee. He did not want
her to feel the same way. He wished she would complain about all the discomforts she
had endured. He desperately needed her to hate the sea. “You loved it so much you
wanted to become one of my crew. Is that what you are trying to make me believe?”

A momentary flash of light flickered in Aimee’s green eyes. “I have no desire to become
one of your crew. I never did,” she said, annoyed. “I learned about these duties because
of you.”

“Me? You knew I would never approve.”

Her face gave a slight wince, indicating the headache she’d had upon waking was still
present. She squeezed her temples and then said calmly, “I also knew that just loving
the sea would not be enough for you, even if you did believe me.”

“Enough for what?” Reece heard himself ask and then mentally kicked himself. She was
drawing him in, getting him to talk, when in the end all that was said would be meaningless.

“For you,” Aimee said simply, as if Reece should have already understood her motivation.
“It is incredibly difficult when the man who owns your heart prefers the sea over
a life with you. I needed to understand your world, what you do, and just why you
love it so much you could choose it over me. Never again would I have the opportunity
to speak and interact with the men you work with, learn the complexities and experience
firsthand all the challenges of running a ship.”

Reece went cold. “If Collins let you run this ship, then I’ll—”

“Do not make threats you don’t mean,” Aimee said, interrupting him with a wave of
her hand. “It has been quite a struggle for Mr. Collins, determining just how to best
be loyal to you.”

Reece snorted. He grabbed her wrists and pointed to the scars. “This is not loyalty.
What they did to you . . . is a death warrant.”

Aimee licked her lips and then tugged her arm free from his grasp. “They told you?”
she said, dumbfounded that the men would willingly put themselves in such trouble.

“Aye, they told me about how Pete and Gus tied you up for days. Waxed eloquent about
how brave you were when they treated you so terribly. Even JP came to your defense.
Unfortunately, my men have no such excuses for their own actions and deception.”

Aimee sank back down onto the bed. She looked down at the white lines crisscrossing
her wrists. They would most likely be with her the rest of her life. “It was my fault,
Reece. Pete and Gus . . . they had no idea who I was or even that I was a female.
Your men believed they were helping you. That was their motivation. You cannot hold
what happened to me against them.”

“You are no longer dealing with addlepated seamen or my softhearted chief mate. I’ve
known you longer and am not vulnerable to your pleas,” Reece lied. In his experience,
the only way to ignore her entreaties was to not hear them.

Aimee looked up and her green eyes caught his blue ones. She must have sensed that
he was doing his best to harden his heart. “I won’t let you do anything to them.”

His firm mouth curled, but there was no amusement in his smile. “You won’t
let
me? Regardless of what you believe, every man aboard swore an oath to
me
, and on that oath they should have alerted me to your presence. They did not. And
on my ship, a man who is not loyal isn’t worth a damn.”

“They’re disloyal?” she said emphatically, jumping back to her feet. “In their minds,
by taking care of me they were being loyal to you! I cannot believe you would punish
your crew over that. If anything, you should be thanking them.” She took a step forward.
Reece refused to budge. “Tell me. If your crew
had
told you that I was on board, would you not have immediately turned around? Of course
you would have. Just like when you are in port, you would refuse to meet with me or
even share a handful of words. Then once we arrived in London, you would fire Pete
and Gus and then hand me off to my brother, only to disappear again. And you and I
would be exactly where we were when you left the first time.”

Reece said nothing. He only folded his arms and glared at her.

Aimee glared back. “I am tired of letting you dictate the terms of our relationship,
Reece Hamilton.”

Reece could listen to no more. “We don’t have a relationship, damn it! I am simply
a childhood fantasy of yours! It’s time you got over me, grew up, and sought a man
who wants you in return.”

“You
were
a childhood fantasy; and last Christmas, I
did
grow up. I was no longer dreaming of love—I was
in
love with you, and after the kiss we just shared, don’t bother denying that you love
me. I won’t believe you.”

“Not a wit of what you just said matters, Aimee. For nothing that happened then or
now has changed who you are or who I am not. It certainly doesn’t change who your
brother is. And when I return you safely to his charge, I am going to tell him of
your escapades and he is never going to let me or any other sea captain within a hundred
miles of you. Nor should he.”

“I can handle Charles,” Aimee said dismissively and then stepped around him to once
again look out at the sea. “But you mistake my demeanor for something that it isn’t.
I am far from calm and my ire is just as roused as yours, I can assure you.”

“
Your
ire?”

“Yes. How do you think it feels to love a man who plans and acts on fear and the opinions
of others, rather than his own?”

Reece felt his mouth drop, but no words came out. His sky-blue eyes, however, had
turned to ice. Aimee was unfazed. “I shall not endeavor to search for more palatable
words to ease your pride. You know that you have been hiding and avoiding me every
time you are in London. So, since you refuse to meet with me, I came to you.”

Reece’s nostrils flared and his breathing became forced. “You did not come to me.
I
discovered
you, near dead and frozen after climbing . . . in a storm . . .” In an effort to
regain some control of his turbulent emotions, he raked his fingers through his sandy-colored
hair. “I cannot even think about it.”

“Then I suggest that you do not,” Aimee interjected. “And before you tell me never
to climb the masts again, there is no need. I may have no fear of heights, but one
terrifying experience on a ship’s mast is enough for a lifetime.”

Reece was not mollified at all. It mattered not if she was eager or unwilling to climb
the riggings. This was not her decision. It was his. “You are never—I mean
never
—to climb any mast, on any ship, of any size,
for any reason,
ever
again
.”

“I just said I would not.”

Reece was silent for a moment. Her agreement was sincere, but it was also swift. “Nor
will you do anything else that should be done by a crewman.”

Aimee made a dismissive gesture. “Now you are being ridiculous.”

Anger forced Reece to his feet so he could pace. His expression was thunderous. “
Ridiculous
is finding my best friend’s little sister as a stowaway on my ship.
Ridiculous
is discovering she’s been living here for weeks.
Ridiculous
is learning that my entire crew knew you were on board and were teaching you how
to do their jobs!”

Aimee ran her fingers through her messed hair, removing some of the larger knots,
pretending to be undisturbed by his tirade. “What is wrong with you? Why are you acting
this way?”

Reece threw his hands up in the air and turned away from her to grab the edge of his
desk. “What way?” he asked sarcastically. “Mad? Furious?” he added, turning around
to capture her gaze. His blue eyes could freeze even salt water. “Maybe because I
don’t like to be made a fool, and you made me one to my whole crew. Something I am
not sure I will ever forgive you for.”

For the first time, Aimee looked flustered. “I . . . I did no such thing. Your crew
respects you just as they always have.”

He pushed himself off the desk and walked toward her until she was pinned against
the wall, his hands on either side of her head. “Do they, Aimee? Is it
respect
when two of my crew kidnap and beat a person without authorization? What about when
they discover it was a woman they had nearly starved to death? Or how about a chief
mate who decides to convince the whole crew to keep it all a secret? Because to me
and to any other captain it looks like I’ve completely lost all control.” With his
lips almost touching hers, Reece added, “Every man on this ship owes his loyalty to
me, and yet so easily they relinquished it to you. But when they did so, it was only
at your peril and theirs.”

Aimee stared at him. Her entire face was flushed, her mouth swollen, and her green
eyes reflected regret. Then she pulled in a slow, shuddering breath and closed her
eyes, unable to look at him. Reece inhaled, taking a big, deep breath of her. He could
feel his composure slipping as a slow wave of lust washed over him. Despite everything,
the need to lean just a little closer so his lips were against hers was enormous.

He pushed himself off the wall and took a step back. He would not give in to his desires
again. “If anything happened to you, do you know what would have happened to them?
Not their
jobs
, but their future? What that would mean for their families?”

The shock of what he said hit her full force. “But you . . . you would not have let
that happen. Charles would not—”

“Lead the march to end every man’s life aboard?” he answered for her. “And do not
doubt that the first person he would leg shackle would be me.”

Aimee swallowed. “You cannot believe that. Charles and you are friends.” She shook
her head and hugged herself. “No, you are just saying this because you are mad.” She
began to pace. At first her steps were hurried, but then they suddenly slowed. “That’s
it. This is about pride. Your pride,” she said and came to a stop. “You are angry,
not with the men, not even with me. You just have an insatiable need to be in control
of everyone and everything about you. But you don’t control everyone and you most
especially don’t control me.”